|
PopLiFe Popular culture, or pop culture, (literally: "the culture of the people") consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. Such elements are perpetuated through that society's vernacular language or an established lingua franca. It comprises the daily interactions, needs and desires and cultural 'moments' that make up the everyday lives of the mainstream. It can include any number of practices, including those pertaining to cooking, clothing, consumption, mass media and the many facets of entertainment such as sports and literature. (Compare meme.) Popular culture often contrasts with a more exclusive, even elitist "high culture." April 13, 2007 Our Miscellany World I was originally going to write about the OJ Simpson trial, revisiting it 13 years later (can you believe it's been 13 years?) and re-evaluating all of the evidence, particularly that which the jury never saw. It's quite impressive and will be a later column, I can assure you. Just researching the information kept me busy for the better part of a day, just because it was so interesting. Then all kinds of stuff started to hit the fan and I figured it would be best to clear that away before delving into the Goldman-Brown murders. There is so much to choose from, I hardly know where to start. I already spent an entire column talking about Anna Nicole Smith. Talking about her even more after her death is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel, but on then, I don't really like the look on that fish's face, so, well, boom. Like so many others in the free world, I followed the story with great fascination. I was watching TV when the news break came on to announce her death and was IM'ing with my partner in poplife crime, Sherry Mercurio. We started refreshing Yahoo News every few seconds until the story FINALLY broke and then it took forever to get any amount of news blood squeezed out of that turnip. To all appearances, it's now over, but of course, my Oliver Stonesque conspiracy theory brain is working over time wondering what comes next. When we last left our intrepid Anna Nicole, she was grieving her beloved son, Daniel, who'd died in her hospital room under mysterious circumstances, later revealed to be a lethal combination of prescription medication, and had married her erstwhile and long-suffering lawyer/companion, Howard K. Stern (not the shock jock - he has no "K"). Several wet-brained, incoherent interviews later, we heard that Anna had passed away in a Florida hotel. The pre-existing paternity battle over little Dannielynn exploded with everyone from Mr ZsaZsa Gabor (much to the chagrin of Mrs ZsaZsa Gabor, who made it clear that should that little ragamuffin baby prove to have been fathered by her husband, there was no effin way it was coming into her house) to her body guard to the aforementioned OJ Simpson throwing their knit hat into the ring. Ms Smith was nothing if not sexually... expressive... and prolific. Drama ensued all the way, including fights over how the funeral would proceed, where she would be buried, when she could be buried (her body was needed for supportive DNA testing to link baby Dannielynn to the baby who eventually showed up for the DNA testing to determine paternity), who would sit where, how she died and who would be taking care of the baby. Now, two months after she died, Anna is buried in the Bahamas, she was determined to have died from a lethal combination of prescription drugs (must run in the family), Baby Dannielynn is revealed to be the child of Larry Birkhead, the ex-boyfriend who had always claimed to be the father and Howard K. Stern has agreed to turn Dannielynn over without drama. The End? Certainly not. A movie is already in the works about her life, starring singer/actress Willa Ford. An episode of Law and Order is airing with Kristy Swanson (ex-Buffy from the movie) starring as Anna. Anna's diaries with her most intimate and as it turns out, illiterate, thoughts were sold in March at an auction for over $500,000 to a "German businessman who wishes to remain anonymous, but plans to sell the information to various media outlets, then sell the actual diaries by the end of the year." After the wash is completed, it is anticipated that the re-sell of the diaries (on ebay, I'm sure) and passing out of the information contained in the diaries (some of which has already been released) should net the German businessman a cool million. As I understand it, Larry Birkhead does not yet have custody, but anticipates it soon. He responded publicly to the news of his confirmed paternity by saying, "I told you so" and "I'm going to a toy store." The way this whole situation has gone, I would highly advise that he paternity test the baby AFTER he gets it in case he a stunt baby is handed off to him. You just never do know, especially when the baby stands to inherit many meeelllleeeoonns of dollars that Anna Nicole was fighting for from the estate of her late husband, millionaire J. Howard Marshall. That is potentially one gabjillion dollar baby! Don Imus is the next schmo in the news. He has quickly been grouped in with the Michael Richards and Mel Gibsons of the world for referring to the Rutgers Women's Basketball team as "nappy-headed hos." Doh! Imus was one of the first original "shock jocks," laying the foundation for people like Howard Stern (not of the "K" variety) to come along later, so he is certainly no stranger to controversy, but after talking it over with people like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, CBS wasn't amused, especially when nearly all of Imus' sponsors pulled out. This week, Imus found himself FARRED. I'm not thinking he'll stay unemployed for long, but after reading the book Private Parts, I'm thinking Howard (no K) Stern is having a good laugh. Imus was interviewed by Al Sharpton, demonstrating a mood that waxed from argumentative to complacent. He later met with all 10 players, their parents, coaches and administrators for Rutgers, plus some religious leaders New Jersey Governor's Mansion in Princeton. Deirdre Imus (Don't wife who has stepped into the arena to smooth the troubled waters) is quoted as saying, "They gave us the opportunity to listen to what they had to say, why they are hurting, and how awful this is. I have to say that these women are unbelievably courageous and beautiful women." CBS is deeply upset about the incident. When the decision to fire Imus was announced, Leslie Moonves, CBS president and chief executive officer, said, "I believe all of us have been deeply upset and revulsed by the statements that were made on our air." I'm sure they are also deeply upset and revulsed that they had to lose a show that generated 20 million dollars in revenue last year. Imus said Thursday that he had "apologized enough" and that he will not go on "some talk-show tour" to discuss how wrong he was for what he said. I mean to tell you, when you get Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Oprah Winfrey after your butt (and your job), you might just as well slither under your rock and hide in the shade for a while. Being a woman, I have to wonder if the ladies were more upset at being referred to as "nappy-headed" or "hos." I think it would be a toss up for me. In a matter of a week, however, they were elevated from "nappy-headed hos" to "unbelievably courageous and beautiful women." If that's not an extreme makeover, I don't know what is. This week, the world mourned the loss of Kurt Vonnegut: author, philosopher and friend to his readers. My son, a major fan, put it best, I thought: "I'm actually okay with it. I mean, I'm sad and I feel like I've lost a good friend... but at the same time, I feel like this was exactly how he should have gone, and I can picture him laughing about it. He fell down and bumped his head and knocked his brain loose and then died. It's so matter of fact and just like something that would have happened to Kilgore Trout or Eliot Rosewater or Billy Pilgrim or Dr. Wilbur Daffodil-11 Swain." Why rich people just keep on getting married I cannot imagine. I know they must occasionally watch "Entertainment Tonight" or catch a little news blip and know that this sort of thing just never ends well. Forbes Magazine just listed the most costly divorces of the stars and the information is rather stunning. Michael Jordan (the basketball player, actor, author, etc) and his wife of 18 years, Juanita Vanoy top out the list. Vanoy stands to collect a whopping $150 million dollahs when the dust settles. Singer Neil Diamond racked up quite a bill in his first divorce when he laid out his own $150 million to his first wife, TV production assistant, Marcia Murphey. He married her in 1969 before he got famous and divorced her in 1996. he does say that Marcia was "worth every penny." Awwwwwww. You had to know the Steven Spielberg-Amy Irving divorce would be included. Their marriage ended in 1989 when she successfully challenged their prenuptial agreement (which was written on a napkin) because she did not have legal representation at the time. That went to the tune of $100 million. Melissa Mathison, ex-wife of actor Harrison Ford, managed to hit him up for money he might make in the future (movies that were filmed while they were married but had not yet been released) and walked away with about $85 million. Next was Kevin Costner, whose midlife crisis cost him a cool $80 million when he divorced Cindy Silva. The first half of the list (above), did well, but the second half (below) didn't really manage the ol' "half of his net worth" amount. Still, what they got was more than they would sneeze off the mirror. Don't feel sorry for "Dancing With the Stars" favorite Heather Mills. She stands to walk away with about $60 million dollars from her brief marriage to Sir Paul McCartney. (He's worth about $700 million) Not bad for 3 years' work! Mick Jagger had his 1990 marriage to long time partner, Jerry Hall, annulled but she only garnered between $15-25 million, a fraction of his worth, and they had a ton of kids together. Actress Linda Hamilton walked away with 50 million of director James Cameron's dollars, which was actually only half of what he earned for directing "Titanic" alone. They were married for 2 years. Diandra Douglas divorced actor/director/producer Michael Douglas in 2000 after 23 years of marriage and received an estimated $45 million. Bringing up the last of the top 10 is that cad, Lionel Richie. While he was still married to Brenda Richie (Nicole's mom), he was fooling around with Diane Alexander (1986-1988). Brenda ultimately caught them in a Beverly Hills apartment together and went absolutely apeshit. Brenda got arrested and charged with everything from spousal abuse (I'm telling you, she KICKED Lionel's ass all over that room) to vandalism (and tore UP that room) and, well, trespassing. Diane got Lionel for a while, plus $20 million dollars when they divorced 7 years later. I think it's clear who got the better deal. As an "honorable mention" tie for last place on the 10's list was Johnny Carson's third wife (there was Joan, then Joanne, then Joanna - this was Joanna) who availed herself of community property laws in California and picked $20 million from the famous talk show host. Man, all I got was a Buick with a broken windshield, our yard sale furniture and a tiny sliver of his Air Force retirement. I've seriously got to get a lawyer next time (or hang onto him because he's worth more here than gone!). That's all for now!
(That's OK, Don't) Send In the Clowns People Who Have Clearly Lost Their Minds Anorexia Versus Genetics; Media Pressure Versus Body Type |
